Beside him, Dr. Martinez chuckled. "Its true, everyone does expect it. But only because you have a way with words."

"Ha, anyone who manages a facility filled with two hundred doctors better have a way with words," Jesse countered. "Anyway, Ill figure it out later." She popped her laptop off the docking station and slid it into her bag. "Will I see you at the meet later?" she asked Dr. Martinez, pulling the bags strap over her shoulder. "Matt and Danielle are both on the track team. We only have a couple of meets left before they both graduate," she added as an aside to David. A hint of parental sadness tinged her voice. He knew the feeling.

The two women made plans to meet at the high school and when it was clear they were finished, he thanked the doctor. Shed agreed to keep him updated and it was all he could ask for at the moment.

"Ready?" Jesse asked once Dr. Martinez had left. He nodded and followed her out.

"You seem to have a good staff here," he said, making small talk as they left her office.

"I know, not what youd expect from a small-town hospital, but youre right, we do," she answered. "Dont get me wrong," she added as she hit the down button outside the elevator. "Were not nearly as equipped as Albany or even Pittsfield, Massachusetts, but were pretty good for our size and location. You must not be from around here?"

They stepped into the elevator and he was surprised to catch a delicate whiff of her perfume. It was hard to smell much of anything not industrial or biological in a hospital, but he definitely caught her scent. With a shake of his head, he answered.

"No, I moved here about ten months ago from Northern California."

"What brought you here? I love it, but its not a well-known area."

David shrugged. "I like it, too. Colder than where Im from, but I wanted to be on the East Coast and Albany offered me the chance to be both a firefighter and an arson investigator. Ive done both, but in the past several years, Ive mostly done the investigation part. I like it, but I missed being part of a team." That was part of the story-all true, just not all of the story.

"And how does that work?" she asked. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing a basement hallway. Stepping out, she directed him to the right as she clarified, "Being a firefighter and an investigator, I mean."

"In big cities theyre usually different roles," he said, following her through the dim corridor. "But in areas like this, with lots of rural municipalities, towns and counties that dont have the need or funds to keep someone like me on staff full time rely on the state. So Im employed by the State of New York as a part-time investigator and the rest of the time I work for the Albany FD."

He finished explaining just as Jesse stopped at a pair of closed doors. As she looked up at him, he noted that she had the longest eyelashes ringing her eyes, which he now realized were more hazel than brown.

"Sounds like a reasonable compromise," she said, her hand on the swinging door.

He shrugged.

She studied him for a moment then took a deep breath. "You ready?"

After his sharp nod, they pushed into the morgue, a serviceable room containing a single table, a desk, and a woman washing up at the sink. On the table lay a form under a white sheet. The woman turned and looked at them over her shoulder as the door clicked shut behind them.

"Jesse," she smiled. "Im glad you came down, I wasnt sure if you were going to." She finished rinsing her hands and grabbed a couple of paper towels before turning all the way around.

Presumably this was the medical examiner. She was another attractive woman, but in a very different way than Jesse. Even in her scrubs, it was easy to see she had an athletic build, though she looked like shed either put on weight recently or was in the early stages of pregnancy. She was a lot taller than Jesse and had dark hair and Mediterranean skin. In looks, about the only thing the two women had in common was the way they wore their hair. As his eyes met the womans, he recognized a look of idle curiosity in her expression.

"I wanted to make sure we were still on for tonight?" Jesse asked.

The other womans eyes swung back to her friend.

"And by the way, this is David Hathaway, the arson investigator," Jesse said. "David, this is Dr. Vivienne DeMarco. She is, among many things, our medical examiner. Shes also a professor at the university in Boston and an FBI consultant."

The introduction was meant to impress him and it did. He wondered how such a small town had landed such a person.

"Shes also pregnant and shouldnt be working so hard."

David turned at the new voice and saw a man in a sheriffs uniform stride into the room with a resigned expression on his face. The officer walked up to Dr. DeMarco and gave her a swift kiss.

"You shouldnt be standing so much," the mans voice was soft with affection.

"Im pregnant, Ian, not ill. Now, dont be rude," Dr. DeMarco responded as she gestured toward David with her head. The sheriff ignored her statement for a moment and fixed her with a look, before turning toward David.

"Sheriff Ian MacAllister. Also Viviennes husband. But call me Ian, please," he said, holding out his hand.

"David Hathaway," David responded, taking the proffered hand. The assessment the sheriff subjected him to was swift, but David didnt doubt it was complete. Something in the mans bearing screamed competence. Probably military-trained competence.

"Its nice to meet you. Cant say Im a fan of the circumstances, but what can we do?" Ian said with a shrug.

David couldnt agree more and said so.

"So, is there a reason you called me here?" Ian asked his wife, who elbowed him in response.

"Yes, now dont be pushy," she answered. "Let me just finish up with Jesse and Ill be right with you both."

The two women walked toward the door. It was obvious they were good friends and they seemed to be making plans to meet later that night for dinner. It was amazing to him that they could be talking about such a thing considering where they were. Oh, he was used to it. Sort of. Hed been around enough burned bodies that the smell didnt completely turn his stomach anymore. And well, Dr. DeMarco-he understood that given her job, she probably had a cast iron stomach.

But it said a lot about Jesse that she hadnt flinched a bit when theyd walked into the room. He didnt get the sense that she spent a lot of time in the morgue or saw all that much violent death, but she just seemed strong. Able to take what life put in front of her. Today it happened to be a body burned nearly to nothing. He had to admire her for that.

"So whats the public story?" Ian asked, pulling Davids attention back to the situation at hand.

"About?" David countered, feeling a little slow.

Ian lifted a shoulder. "I havent heard much of the news today, but if they suspected a bomb was the origin of the fire, itd be all over. We wouldnt be hearing about anything else. So even if thats what you are investigating, the public story must be something else."

David studied the sheriff, taking in the mans matter of fact assumption that what was being made public might not be the real, or entire story. It made David wonder about Ians background. Not that it mattered one way or another.

"Officially undetermined, but were mentioning a possible gas explosion," was all David said, figuring that as law enforcement, Ian should probably know the company line, so to speak.

Ian raised his shoulders in an "itll do" gesture and they fell back into silence. David didnt miss the fact that he wasnt the only one whose eyes seemed to gravitate to the two women.

"They might be talking about you," Ian said, out of the blue.

David turned at Ians voice. "I beg your pardon?"

"My wife is steadfastly trying not to look in my direction. That usually means shes up to something," he said. "And my guess is, given the way Jesse is shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Vivienne is probably trying to suss out whether or not shes interested in you."

David wasnt quite sure what to say to that. At least Ian had answered the question of whether or not Jesse was married. But still, even knowing small towns had lots of small-town gossip, being sucked into it after knowing a man for less than five minutes left David with very little to say. And he must have looked it because Ian let out a big laugh.

"Dont worry. If theres a single guy within a forty-mile radius, my wife is trying to set Jesse up with him. I try not to get involved. But there it is."

"There what is?" Dr. DeMarco asked, returning to their side of the room. David watched as Jesse gave him one last look before pushing the morgue door open and leaving him alone with the couple.

"You, trying to set Jesse up," Ian responded as he crossed his arms over his chest, all but daring his wife to argue. She opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again before pursing her lips and glaring at her husband-like a puppy caught in the act.

"I have no idea what youre talking about," she finally retorted. "Now, if youd both like to turn your attention to Brent Greene, I will present you with my findings."

"Please," Ian said, making a grand gesture toward the table. David encountered a lot of people in his line of work. Some earned his respect, some he enjoyed working with. But it seemed that everyone hed met in just the last few hours during his visit to Riverside were people he might actually like. Not just as colleagues, but as possible friends.

They were genuine in the way they worked together and treated each other as professionals. But they also seemed to somehow cross over and have real relationships outside of work-meeting for dinner, cheering their kids on together-or, in the case of Dr. DeMarco and Ian, working and living together. Maybe there was something to be said for small towns.

"Now, Mr. Hathaway-" Dr. DeMarco began.

"David," he interrupted.

She acknowledged his interjection with a nod then continued. "You might be wondering why I called Ian here. Aside from being my husband, of course." She cast a smile at Ian over her shoulder and her husbands lips lifted in return.

"I assumed it was because arson, of any sort, is a criminal investigation and him being the sheriff and all," David responded, his curiosity piqued. If Dr. DeMarco had found something to indicate it was more than arson, this could get interesting.

"It is, of course. But let me direct your attention here." She led both men over to a large computer screen and pulled up a couple of x-ray images. Both showed a skull. "Now, Mr. Greenes ultimate cause of death is smoke inhalation," she said.

"He wasnt killed by the fire? Or the explosion?" David clarified.

"No," she shook her head. "He was dead before the fire got to him and the injuries that I did find that resulted from the explosion wouldnt have killed him."

"But you did find evidence of an explosion?" David asked.

Dr. Demarco nodded. "Most definitely. But I found those injuries mostly on the lower part of his body and not severe enough to be the cause of death. So, as I was saying," she continued, "the smoke is what ultimately caused his death, but I want to draw your attention here." She pointed to the forehead area of the x-ray. David stepped closer and peered at the area. At his side, he felt Ian do the same.

"Is that a series of fractures I see?" David asked, frowning.

"It is," she answered.

"He was hit on the head before he died from the smoke?" Ian clarified.

"He was. And whatever it was he was hit on the head with, or by, was powerful. This bone here," she circled the area of the forehead, "is a very strong bone. As you can see from the x-rays, there are several small, radiating fractures. It would take a hard instrument and a strong person to do that."

"And not something that would happen if he fell and hit his head?" David asked.

"Definitely not. Not enough force," she answered.

"Can you tell if it happened before or after the injuries he got from the explosion?" David asked.

Dr. DeMarco shook her head. "Not by the injuries themselves. The best I can tell from the remains is that they happened either close together or at the same time."

"But?" Ian pressed, obviously hearing something in his wifes voice.

She cast him a glance then spoke. "But if we look at the placement of the injuries, not the injuries themselves, I would posit that he was hit on the head, fell down, and then the explosion went off, sending debris and such into his legs, particularly the lower portions which were probably closest to the origin."

Ian bobbed his head. "Okay, so a forceful hit to the head knocked him out."

"So, what would do that?" David asked.

"And who?" Ian added.

"As to who, thats your job, babe," she said with a grin. Out of the corner of his eye, David saw Ian roll his eyes at his wifes dry tone.

"As to what," she continued, "Id say something thick and hard."

"Like a baseball bat?" David offered.

She shook her head. "Not round, something flat. Like a two-by-four or the like."

"Like something that would have burned up in the fire." The sheriffs voice wasnt thrilled and David could sympathize.

"You think a third person might have been involved? Someone who whacked the dad?" David asked.

"Thats not my territory," she answered.

"It is her territory, Hathaway. Maybe not officially, but by experience. And dont let her fool you into thinking otherwise," Ian interjected, clarifying for David. For a moment the sheriffs eyes narrowed on his wife, as if trying to figure her out, then he shrugged.

"For some reason, shes trying to stay out of it, though. Not sure why, since she never has before, but Ill figure that out later. Officially, an assault like this would be my case," he said, studying the image. "Unless of course the state or the feds take over, depending on what you find, Hathaway," he added, taking a step away from the computer screen.

"But if someone were to ask me," Dr. DeMarco continued, ignoring her previous statement with a sly smile directed at her husband who shot David a look as if to say "I told you so." "Id say you should look into the possibility of a third person, but my guess is youll find that Aaron did it," she pronounced as she placed her hands on the small of her back and stretched, displaying her growing belly.

"You need to sit down, Vivienne," Ian said, noticing his wifes movements with concern.

"Im fine," she waved him off.

"Why?" David asked, cutting off the protest that was no doubt forming on Ians lips.

"Maybe to stop his father," she offered, her head tilted as she studied the images.

"Stop his father from setting off the bomb or stop his father from stopping him from setting off the bomb?" he pressed.

She took a moment to answer. "Youll have to figure that out," she finally said. But it was clear from the way her gaze slid to the side that the good doctor definitely had her opinions.

David frowned and mentally went through what Dr. Martinez had told him about Aarons condition. "Aarons injuries might be consistent with an attempt to diffuse a bomb," he posited, thinking out loud more than anything. He hadnt really formed any opinions yet, didnt have enough information. But he wanted to throw it out there and see what this couple did with that option.

"Or they might be consistent with someone who was attempting to build one and accidentally set it off," Ian suggested, though his tone was more pragmatic than persuasive or argumentative.

"Would this injury have killed him, Dr. DeMarco, if the smoke hadnt?" David asked, pointing to the x-ray images.

"Call me Vivi, please, and yes, it probably would have if he didnt seek treatment for it. The force of the blow was strong enough that the impact of the fractures would have caused damage and bleeding of the brain. Left untreated, his brain would have likely swollen, eventually killing him."

"So if it was Aaron that hit his father and then set off the bomb, hes probably responsible for his fathers death either way," David said.

"But if he hit his father and tried to diffuse the bomb, he was likely acting in some form of self-defense," Ian countered.

David had to admit that, even though he would track the evidence where it took him, the idea of Aaron Greene being involved in this debacle as a hero rather than a killer appealed to him. He knew it was possible for a kid to be cold blooded, to build bombs and set fires that killed people. But he preferred to give the young man the benefit of the doubt. And though everyone hed met so far at Riverside had maintained professional detachment and no one had raved about Aaron being innocent, it was clear from how they talked about him, how they talked about the situation, that everyone was having a hard time buying he was the bad guy in all this.

MORE GREAT READS FROM BOOKTROPE.